Well, I am a student and I study a lot so I won't probably have enough time to learn it very good, but I'll do my best Sooo...I hope I have hit the right spot - the right forum I don't know nogthing in Latin except a couple of cool quotes and of course the alphabet. But nothing more...So my questio is: where should I start from? I've seen the books here and I even downloaded 2-3 of them. Another question - are these books appropriate enough for a total newbie like me?
I am really fond of learning this languge. Not because most European languages are basicly based on it, but because it is really nice to speak a "dead" language like this. It makes you look smart (although I don't need that last item - I look smart enough already )

Well, no book in my opinion will adequately explain EVERYTHING for "total newbies" (of which I'm one, pleased to meet you ). That's why you need something like this forum, a place to go to when the books don't elaborate quite enough. That being said, the standard for Latin seems to be Wheelock. But be sure if you get that to get Grote's "A Comprehensive Guide to Wheelock's Latin", so you'll have extra help at your fingertips. It REALLY is worth the extra cash, because it doesn't assume you know basic grammar (which in some areas, I didn't). Wheelock also has a website, where you can download audio that helps you improve your pronunciation. However, a note of caution: I would discount Wheelock's recommendation that you join the Quasillum (sp?) study group. It is not recommended. I don't want to appear to be slanderous, so I'll just leave it at that.

Well of course I'll use the forum. It is full of smart people who like helping people like me - total newie Well, maybe my question wasn't specific enough...My native language is neighter English nor German, but I think I know them a little bit (I am not saying that I'm the next Shakespear or Goethe )...So my question again but this time more spesific - are these book suitable for people whose native language isn't English? If I may say (I don't want to sound like a smarta**), I can understand English and German...Well, I really need more practice (like right now while I am writing this thread), but I don't think I'll have much difficulties...Maybe in the terminolgy but - hey! - even an English-native speaker gets usually confused while reading a lot of grammar term which he has nearly forgotten from his school years...

I second Lingua Latinaby Hans Ã˜rberg, coupled with The Dowling Method. Although, as I have said elsewhere, I don't know how well newbies will be able to handle it, since I myself started using it after going through the traditional translation methods.

I'm intrigued by the recommendations of Lingua Latina. It sounds like a good idea for the OP, especially since he relates his native language isn't English and Lingua Latina is, it seems, a total Latin immersion written entirely in Latin.

I share Amadeus' position, though, in that I did not learn Latin by this method but rather by the traditional way.

Does the experience of those who learned Latin soley by this immersion technique speak well of such a method?

I certainly hope it does, and if so that would be very interesting.

edit: as an addendum, are there a similiarly regarded immersion methods for Ancient GreeK? If so, what's the recommendation there?

If you download the Latinum Podcasts, you can read the exercises in German translation by using Adler's textbook for learning German - the exercises are identical. If you search google boks you will find the key to Alder's Practical grammar of the German Language. Then, simply look at the german translation while listening to the equivalent Latin on the Latinum podcast, or open Alder's practical Grammar of the Latin Language pdf side by side with the Practical Grammar of the German Language, as almost all the examples are identical.
http://latinum.mypodcast.com

xando wrote:edit: as an addendum, are there a similiarly regarded immersion methods for Ancient GreeK? If so, what's the recommendation there?

As I and others have detailed in a thread in the Greek forum, the closest thing we have to a "Lingua Graeca" (or I suppose a "He Glossa Hellenikh") is the Italian edition of Athenaze. In a nutshell, the original Athenaze is English but mostly traditional in method. Some ingeneous Italians totally reworked the course in the image of Lingua Latina, and while its not entirely in Greek, the course is remarkable and comparable to LL. The caveats are that you'd need at least an Italian dictionary for it, and that the books are completely impossible to find in the US (my vol. 2 is hopefully on its way from Italy at this moment).

xando wrote:I share Amadeus' position, though, in that I did not learn Latin by this method but rather by the traditional way.

I should mention that I didn't "learn" Latin by the traditional method, but, rather, acquired the very basic notions of Latin grammar through it. Lingua Latina still taught me a few more things I needed to know, and took me a while to finish Part I.

Amadeus wrote:I second Lingua Latinaby Hans Ã˜rberg, coupled with The Dowling Method. Although, as I have said elsewhere, I don't know how well newbies will be able to handle it, since I myself started using it after going through the traditional translation methods.

Sounds like an interesting method.

Is there any good home page which explains the grammar which that home page introduced more thoroughly?

Well, it's not strictly necessary to go in-depth into the Grammar before you can start learning Latin. You only need to know what the cases are and what their function is in a sentence. You know, there is a danger in getting bogged down on the technicalities and the grammar babble. Forget about that. That's the old method. Besides, the cases will become clearer as you go along reading Lingua Latina. Trust me.

You've certainly come to the right place! I'm not going to add anything extra here since Amadeus and Lucus (if he jumps in) will voice my own views entirely. But, I will add that I can't stress Lingua Latina enough. Wheelock's, M&F, or any other grammar-with-exercises book will eventually get you where you want to be, but Lingua Latina will get you from 0 to 60 mph in the shortest amount of time.

But, without any desire to derail this thread let me just add this (again): Mods...can't we get a sticky post for this sort of thing? At least then everyone will be more than happy to contribute a lengthier and more thoughtful post about their favorites.

just thought I would say hello to you all as one newbie to another
spent a lot of time in my youth listerning to ecclesiastical (hope I spelt that right) latin but never had the opportunity to learn so now I hope to do so